[love] Kitchen Nook

My solution for everything regarding home and adding additional coziness: put a rug in there!

Our kitchen is FULL. OF. TILE. Basic, builder grade tile. It's fine, but there's so much of it. So while perusing at Walmart this weekend, we found this fabulous 5x7 rug (in the outdoor section: at WALMART) for $49. It has the perfect pop of green that matches our colorful backsplash wall and adds warm tones of brown, red, orange, black, and white. I really like using outdoor rugs for eating areas: they are durable and can handle spills (and paw prints). A good combination for our house! Forgive the dark quality of some of the pictures... but I do love our windows that look out to the backyard!

The rug breaks up a lot of that tile and adds the perfect amount of "cozy" to that space in our home. Seriously. If a room "needs something", it's probably a throw rug. Or a throw pillow. My two go-to's!

Happy Tuesday!

"And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love." 2 John 1:6

[love] Secondhand Scores

There are many perks to living in a teensy tiny town. 30 second commute to work... Hardly any traffic... Everyone-knows-everyone community bond (in a good way: it can also be a bad thing). However, a downfall is that there is not much to offer in the form of shopping and entertainment. For example, the closest secondhand store is 20 minutes away in the next town and it is only open on Fridays and Saturdays. Hmph. BUT Nate and I have found some treasures each time we go, so it is definitely worth it to make the short trek for some sweet finds. Here's what we picked up this weekend!

First up: this wicker tray for $1. A great little caddy for my chalk mug, plant, and Scentsy (which I know is disgusting: I cleaned it immediately after taking this picture!) It gives a great texture along with a pop of neutral, natural fiber.

This huge basket/water canteen/thingy: $3.50. A new centerpiece for my farmhouse table! Now I need to find flowers to fill it. Probably fake ones. Don't judge ;)

Nate found this set of four "Learn-A-Language: Italian" records for $2: he loved the throwback "The Houston Post" label on it. It's unfortunate that it's ripped, but the second box in the stack has a much neater looking label. Also, if you look at the original mailing stamp, it says 1964 on it. Pretty neat! He will probably take the records out to hang up in his music nook in his office. I'll use the boxes as shelf decor :)

 He also picked up three books for $2... my little reader (photo taken from his Instagram)!

So there you have it. Please tell me I'm not the only one who loves to dig for treasures at secondhand stores! Okay, when I say the word "dig", I mean "look carefully". I'm a bit of a germ-a-phobe :)

Happy Monday!

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:21

[make] Framed Art: Embroidered Napkins

Nate and I decided that every time we went on a trip (especially international), we would buy something for our home. On our recent cruise vacation, we purchased a wooden basket in Belize and embroidered napkins in Cozumel.

But the intention for the napkins was not to use at dinner, ohhh no. They became framed art! Just pop 'em into 5x5 frames and ta-da! Gorgeous, cultural art for not that much $$$!

 

Empty frames and gorgeous napkins, or any other embroidered fabric.

 

Beautiful Mexican embroidery... just itching to be framed! If you ever travel to Cozumel, we purchased these at Cinco Soles, the hugeee store in the cruise port, Puerta Maya.

What souvenirs do you purchase on vacations? We usually buy postcards and shot glasses as well... not to USE or anything, but it's small enough that you can have them all on a shelf displayed together showing your travels. Ooh and ornaments as well! One of my 30 before 30 is to have a travel tree full of ornaments from different places. We just started this kick on buying things for home, so we hope to have lots of treasures displayed as we continue to travel!

Happy Thursday!

"The path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day." Proverbs 4:18

[teach] If I Was On A Cruise Ship...

When I returned to school after the cruise, the kiddos were so excited to see me: they were full of hugs to give me and had big smiles to share! One of the many reasons I love teaching Kindergarten... They were so excited to hear all about my trip. They couldn't believe I was able to eat pizza and ice cream all day, along with watching movies on a huge screen!

To connect my trip to their level (and after I had talked about my trip with them), I asked them what they would do if they took a cruise ship vacation. Their responses were so adorable, I just had to share: enjoy!

"If I was on a cruise ship I drive the cruise ship."

[this student's aunt was on the Carnival Triumph: the ship that was a nightmare a few months ago... he was very excited to be able to help the captain!!! ha!]

"I like to look at the ship."

"I like to eat pizza"

 [love his detail of the people on the top deck with pizza slices in their hands!]

"I like to ride the boat."

I like incorporating parts of my life into my teaching because I feel like it makes a connection between my students and myself. They love hearing about "Mr. Johnson", our pups Chloe and Oliver, and all of our trips/vacations we go on. They were so excited to draw a huge cruise ship and they loved seeing pictures of my vacation too! Teachers: do you incorporate parts of your life into your teaching? How do you make personal connections with your students.

Happy Wednesday!

"The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail." Isaiah 58:11

[life] And These Are The...

 that anyone could have!

Happy Tuesday :)

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." Ecclesiastes 4:12

[life] Cruising Together

Whew! Sorry for the late update on our trip! It was HARD getting back into the swing of things and routines... I was constantly yawning every day (no more waking up to pleasure and relaxation) and it was hard to get motivation to do anything (no one to serve me or make my bed? hmph.) But I have calculated we have only 25 more days of school! YEAAAHHH! And some of those days will be end of the year events, so I just know it will go by in an instant. This school year went by insanely fast! But! Back to the cruise overview :)

We had a fabulous time on our 7-day Caribbean cruise vacation aboard the Crown Princess cruise ship! Here are some photos from our travels: I'll try not to type TOO much and let the pictures speak for themselves :) Enjoy!

On the first formal night, they had a champagne waterfall! Nate and I did it too, how fun/nerve wracking!

 

Nate and I won $300 during Bingo one day! Woot!!!

 

Honduras in the background... Sigh... Oh well, safety first!

Shopping in Belize

Was taken on National Sibling Day :) Love ya bro!

Standing in front of our ship on the pier that leads to Cozumel!

We "rented" a kayak near the shore at the beach we were visiting: it was super windy that day!

With my favorite fellas, Dad & Nate!

With my sister in law and mom on Deck 7 at night! 

Last dinner: with our waiter and junior waiter! Walter is from India and Vasi is from Romania!

There are TONS more pictures, but this is a pretty good overall review of our trip. We had a blast: cruises are our absolute favorite vacation! We are already planning our next vacation for our anniversary in June, but we are torn: Destin or New Orleans? Thoughts? 

Have a great week!

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31